'It's all a lot of fuss and nonsense got up by some pesky civil rights activists, some of whom you can find here at Stand.'

'The St Lucian policeman saw her through customs without any fuss, then delivered her to another man in a big car outside the airport compound: her employer.'

'She appeared bored, and I knew she thought I was making a lot of unnecessary fuss.'

'Nothing much ever happens, the inhabitants just get on with everyday life with the minimum of fuss, stress and excitement.'

'he didn't put up too much of a fuss'

'My understanding is you'd like an outside reader's appraisal of its academic merit, as there's been a bit of a fuss about it over there at Athabasca University.'

'This idea was soon quashed as Len didn't want a fuss, and besides it would clash with Rotary's Henley-on-Todd and he had to be there to hand out certificates.'

'If I had not caused a fuss, it's possible I wouldn't have received it at all.'

'His analysis is that British socialism took a wrong turn in the 1940s, and that the fuss between private and public sector has no place in a party concerned about the ordinary person.'

'If 20 tonnes of highly radioactive liquefied uranium and plutonium fuel had leaked out of a reprocessing system you'd think there might be a bit of a fuss wouldn't you?'

'Part of this revolution was the news that professional footballers should eat lots of pasta and get to bed early, information that most of them could have got from their parents without all the fuss.'

'In the application that Opel gave to the court, a huge fuss is being made about naming names.'

'Insiders revealed that the handsome star was left with no choice but to retract his complaint quickly returned to work without a fuss.'

'People are forced to take to the streets, organise petitions, write letters and generally make a proper fuss in protest.'

'they settled in with very little fuss'

'However, it is simple to mix and may conveniently be started the night before with a minimum of fuss needed to complete it the next day.'

'It names each track, adds it to your library and lets you rate each song or add it to your own folders without any fuss.'

'Well, we should expect our electrical appliances to become even more sophisticated - tailored to helping us do many of our domestic duties with minimum fuss.'

'Finished one column this morning; composed the other on the way to work, and banged it out with a minimum of fuss and second guessing.'

'Comfortable and with the minimum of fuss, St Louis had done more than enough to seal their place in the decider against St Columb's of Derry.'

'With the minimum of fuss, two masseurs, working in unison, applied hot medicated oils over my body and set about the task of coaxing the knots out of my protesting muscles.'

'We want you to be able to find your way around the newspaper with ease; to be able to locate a particular article or feature story with the minimum fuss.'

'In a sector full of uncertainty, false starts and expensive delays, their aim is to design and complete attractive commercial enterprises with the minimum of fuss.'

'The 29-year-old has slotted into Anderson's team with a minimum of fuss after eight months out of football with an Achilles injury.'

'They'll all get you from A to B with a minimum of fuss.'

verb

Show unnecessary or excessive concern about something.

'She pulled weeds that threatened to grow and fussed over the flowers that were about to bloom.'

'He said that fretting and fussing about rural housing is a very superficial symptom of a much greater and far deeper change the collapse of agriculture.'

'Even in 2004, though, babies will still cry and demand things and parents will worry and fuss over them, and I intend to maintain that tradition.'

'It's just that, because she's always been there; fussing and cleaning and polishing, I don't even think about what happens to those mud-stains.'

'To spend a few days among the Olympic footballers was to see plainly that the Argentinians enjoyed the democracy of it more than, say, the Italian squad, some of whom fussed about transport and food.'

'Well, as all offspring know, it is difficult to be assertive with a determined older parent who tells one to stop fussing unnecessarily.'

'Gatherings such as this always made him fuss unusually about his appearance, when he normally did not care.'

'The ‘sick room’ in our house always had a boarder, over whom my mother would fuss endlessly, soothing a real or imagined fever.'

'I fussed and worried and finally I pressed the send button.'

'The young nurse is fussing over her husband, who always looks distant and bored.'

'beside him Kegan was fussing with sheets of paper'

'You can fuss a little with the lunge whip to move the horse forward but the most important driving aid or pressure is the position of your primary line.'

'After that, waiters in bow ties get busy fussing with silverware and bringing on the hot courses.'

'The woman with the walker, obviously the mother, fusses a bit with the walker, unsure whether to lean on it or push it over in the direction of one of the daughters, the one who is now folding away her sunglasses as she speaks.'

'Helen fussed with the sheets on Lee's bed, and then followed Frank to Robert's room.'

'She sat down at the dressing table, the maid fussing with her hair.'

'She fussed with her hair, make-up and dress making sure everything was perfect.'

'After all, aren't there innumerable warnings out there about how easy it is to mess up your computer by fussing with the registry?'

'Rosa was called to brush my hair dry and Inga fussed around finding a dress that she considered suitable.'

'It does not fuss me one way or tother, but if they are truly confidential I will want them uplifted and removed.'

'Most of all, Robbie likes to be fussed and stroked.'

'Everyone on the show adores him and men and women were queuing up to fuss him.'

'He looked very mournful sitting in his basket while the other two were being fussed on my knee.'

More definitions

1. an excessive display of anxious attention or activity; needless or useless bustle: They made a fuss over the new baby.

2. an argument or noisy dispute: They had a fuss about who should wash dishes.